McDonogh linebacker Cook commits to Purdue

Westminster resident and standout McDonogh linebacker Wyatt Cook has committed to Purdue, Cook announced on Twitter on Tuesday.

Cook, a rising senior, also had offers from Maryland and Virginia, but he said the offer was rescinded by Maryland before his recruiting visit to Purdue because the Terps already had two commitments at linebacker: Gus Little and Brett Zanotto.

However, even if the Maryland offer were still on the table, Cook said he would have chosen the Boilermakers over his hometown school. Maryland will not face Purdue, their new Big Ten opponent, this year in football.

“I knew it right away when I stepped on to [Purdue’s] campus,” said Cook, The Baltimore Sun's All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year last fall. “Maryland’s a great school … but I’m just very excited to be at Purdue.”

Although the Boilermakers went 1-11 overall and 0-8 in the Big Ten last season, Cook said it’s impossible to tell from the attitude that the players and coaches are carrying on campus and on the field.

“It just felt like that season never happened,” he said. “They’re bringing it back now; it’s amazing how they’re just moving on and working hard and improving.”

Even if he isn’t used as a primary linebacker right away at Purdue, Cook said, he’s willing to do whatever he can to contribute to the team.

“If they want me to be redshirted, I’ll do that. If they want me to play special teams, I’ll do that,” he said. “If they want me to play every down on defense, I’ll do that, too.

“I just want to keep working and see where it takes me.”

In his junior year at McDonogh — a school that has sent players to Maryland in the past, including Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey and incoming freshman Josh Woods — Cook recorded 85 tackles and eight sacks. The Eagles won the MIAA A Conference championship and finished No. 1 in The Sun's football poll.